Bad Days
by LadyBastet92
Summary: When Dean and Sam are separated after Lucifer is freed, Sam gets sick, and Castiel is determined to help. Season 5, Gen, edging towards Sassy towards the end.


"Sam?"

Castiel eyed the overgrown figure wrapped in swaths of covers, its eyes barely peeking out from underneath them. A series of harsh coughs racked through the blankets, and Castiel's eyebrows furrowed slightly in a mixture of confusion and concern. Sam slowly pushed himself up a bit, and the rest of his red and splotchy face was revealed. "Cas?" he croaked out. His voice was a pitch lower than usual, Castiel noticed, and rough, as if his vocal chords had been run through by pebbles, making Castiel wince. "What'r'you doin' here? How'd y'find me?"

"Bobby told me of your whereabouts," Castiel replied, taking a few steps towards the bed. "He told me you were unwell since last you spoke with him."

"He asked you t'check up on me?" Sam asked, surprise evident on his features. He had obviously been expecting to go through this ordeal alone. Since Sam and Dean had separated about a month ago, Castiel had been spending the majority of his time with Dean, assisting him on his hunts. Castiel felt an unusual pang of guilt for neglecting to check up on the other brother during all that time, assuming that Sam was safe living his "normal apple-pie life", as Dean put it.

"I came of my own accord," Cas said, "Though he does want me to wish you well from him."

"Oh," Sam said simply. He sniffed, and looked away for a moment. "Y'don't have t'stay."

"You are unwell, Sam," Castiel said, sitting on the opposite bed, his eyebrows still furrowed in worry. Castiel knew that this wasn't a deathly illness, but Sam, with his beet-red eyes and chapped lips and greasy hair, looked absolutely miserable.

"I'm okay," Sam argued, not so convincingly. Castiel was confused on why Sam felt he had to lie about his state of being when it was obvious that he was anything but "okay". After two-thousand years, humans could still be astoundingly confusing to the angel, especially in ways that just seemed – well – stupid.

Sam looked down on his lap, biting his lip softly. "Dean probably needs you. You should get back to him." Sam's expression somehow fell even further at his brother's name. Oh. Sam thought he was taking up Castiel's time with Dean, or that Dean was more worthy of his attention.

Honestly, _humans_.

"Dean can take care of himself," Castiel said shortly, crossing his arms. "And he's currently not sick – _you_ are. So I'm staying and helping you.

Castiel could practically see the plethora of gears working in Sam's brain, not sure if it should result in shock, continued stubbornness or gratitude. "Cas, y'really don't -"

"That's final, Sam." Castiel's voice turned authoritative, but his expression softened marginally when Sam huffed out like a child but then managed to give Castiel an appreciative grin, before proceeding to hack his throat out for a good few seconds.

"What do you need?" Castiel asked, placing a hand on Sam's shaking arm.

"Cas –"

"_Sam._"

The man paused, but then relented. "Medicine would be awesome. I ran out yesterday, but I couldn't find the strength to get outta bed." Sam said this with a bit of a frustrated blush. "And…food would be good, if it's not too much trouble."

Castiel flew away without another word, realizing about a second too late that he probably should have asked Sam if there was something he could do to make him comfortable in his absence. Human customs were still something he was getting used to.

Which was proved after a long, awkward conversation with a pharmacist about which medicines he should purchase for his friend. Castiel didn't understand why humans felt the need to give so many names for one type of medicine – how was he supposed to know what "cold medicine" is? Wouldn't you give that to someone with a sort of temperature deficiency? How did you know if a human nose is "runny" or "congested"? And how, exactly, were little candies supposed to lessen a cough?

Despite these bumps, Castiel managed to purchase a bag load of medicines (he decided to get the ones that treated both statutes of the nose, just to be safe) with the money Dean lent him in case of emergencies. Cas decided that Sam being unable to get out of bed should constitute as an emergency in his book.

With the remaining money, Castiel bought some food at a nearby store. The angel had absolutely no idea what would help the human immune system, nor did he knew Sam's tastes. In the end, he decided to get a bag of nacho chips, a bag of broccoli, some mini-microwavable pizzas (thought he may have bought those on the sole bases that he was fascinated by the concept), four waters, and soup, since that was the only thing the pharmacist advised. He decided that Sam could talk him through the preparations or send him out again if he didn't like it.

The sun was still high in the sky when Castiel returned, and Sam looked worse. His eyes were closed, but he didn't look at peace. The wrinkles on his forehead were showing, and he was sniffling and coughing almost simultaneously. Castiel brought the bags over to Sam's bedside and put a hand on Sam's forehead. Castiel didn't really understand the point of his, but he'd seen humans do it countless times, so maybe it offered Sam some comfort. "Sam? I've returned."

Sam struggled to open his eyes this time, squinting at the sunlight pouring through the windows. "Hey," he said; his voice was no better than it was before. Castiel brought the bag of medicine up onto the bed and onto Sam's lap as the human struggled a bit to get to a sitting position. "I brought medicine. Though, I'm not exactly sure what dosages I should give you, so…" Castiel trailed off, a bit abashed.

Sam, however, just gave him a sincere smile. "Thanks, Cas. This'll help a lot." Sam worked to open one of the packages as Cas put the other bag, the one with the food, on the bed. Sam raised his eyebrows a tad at the choices inside, but he was still smiling, Castiel noticed, as he went to close the shades for Sam's eyes. Perhaps Castiel did something right, then.

After Sam took all the medicine he needed, he slid back down into the bed with a sigh. Castiel watched from the other bed, content to stay close to Sam. "Would you like me to fix you some food?"

"I'm good, Cas," Sam said, and judging from the fact that he seemed to breathe a bit more and cough a bit less, Castiel decided to believe him. "I think I'm gonna sleep for a bit."

Castiel titled his head a bit curiously at that. "Why would you sleep in the afternoon?" he asked, honestly curious. It seemed to be habit for most humans to sleep after the sun went down.

Sam let out a dry chuckle, but not a humorless one like he'd seen Dean use many times. "Helps my immune system get better. Also, I'm tired. And I'm allowed to sleep during the day if I want."

Castiel pondered this for a moment. He then promptly got onto the bed next to Sam.

Sam moved away, his eyes wide. "Cas, what're you –"

"I've never slept before," the angel confessed, a bit confused on why Sam was edging away. He didn't think Castiel would hurt him, did he? "I might as well try it while I'm taking care of you."

"Allll…right," Sam said slowly, "But – you can sleep on the other bed, y'know. You down have to – um – actually sleep in the same bed."

"Do you dislike it?" Castiel asked, unexpected disappointment coming from this rejection. Castiel wasn't exactly sure where it came from, but it must have shown on his features, because Sam's expression suddenly softened.

"On second thought…whatever. Why not." Sam slunk underneath the covers and closed his eyes. There's a trace of a smile on Sam's lips, one that Castiel honestly hadn't seen since the day they met, and the angel was filled with an unexpected warmth. He watched the human breathe in and out, this boy who had the entire world pushed onto his shoulders. This boy who had been abandoned by the ones he cared about most, Castiel realized. It was a wonder that Sam was walking around at all with that invisible weight on his shoulders all by himself.

He decided that, whether Sam and Dean stayed separated or eventually reunited, Castiel wouldn't neglect him any longer. He deserved better, Castiel thought with bittersweet fondness, watching the chest of this cursed child rise and fall.

Castiel was struck by a sudden urge to be closer to Sam. This urge manifested itself by Castiel wrapping his arms around Sam's chest as best he could. Sam started again at this movement, but Castiel's eyes were already closed, so he couldn't see his reaction. He must have decided not to protest, because he could feel Sam's muscles deflex under Castiel's arms. The angel found, surprisingly, that he liked the heat Sam's warm body was emitting, and he moved in a bit closer. Castiel thought he could feel Sam press in a bit closer towards him, too.

"Cas?" Sam whispered.

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Gratefulness seeped through his chapped voice, and Castiel felt the tips of his lips turn upwards for a rare smile.

"You're welcome."


End file.
